Monteiro Signs with SR-Sport

Ex Formula One driver Tiago Monteiro will be back for his fourth consecutive season in the highly competitive FIA World Touring Car Championship, at the wheel of a Seat Leon TDi.

Monteiro will be partnered at the new SR-Sport team by former Seat Sport team mates Jordi Gene and Gabriele Tarquini, the current FIA WTCC Champion and the current WTCC Yokohama Independents Champion Tom Coronel.

The team, SR-Sport, is an offshoot from established WTCC outfit Sunred Engineering, will be supported by Seat Sport, back in Spain.

During his first three years in the Championship, Tiago has been moving up the grid, as he gets more experience in top level Touring Car Racing, and this progress has allowed Seat Sport to win both the drivers and manufacturer titles in 2008 and 2009. Tiago had this to say about the deal: “I am really happy to be able to compete in the WTCC again and to be a part of the SEAT family. Apart from F1, the WTCC is the championship with the greatest level of competition. It is also a great pleasure to be integrated in such a unique paddock, I have learnt a lot over the past few years and it is essential that my career continues in the WTCC.”

Tiago will have to adapt from being in a full works team in WTCC to being in a new team, but with the same enthusiasm and professionalism, and Tiago is still optimistic about the season ahead: “I will give my all to secure the best results and to improve as a driver, and as a team, at each round of the season. This is the only mentality I will be working with at each race.”

The boss of SR-Sport, Joan Orus has this to say about the deal: “I am really enthusiastic to race the SEAT TDi cars, because I think we will be able to fight for theWTCCtitle with the new team SR-Sport and four great drivers.”

The opening rounds of the 2010 FIA World Touring Car Championship take place at Curitiba, in Brazil in 2 weeks time, on the weekend of the 5th to 7th March 2010.